CBS "The Challenge: USA" season 2.
Although the MTV veterans were on the ropes, they found momentum in the last episode of “The Challenge: USA” season 2. But, the episode’s eliminated player, “Big Brother 23” alum Alyssa Lopez, doesn’t “respect” the move that led to her demise.
During Thursday, August 24’s addition of “USA 2,” Lopez was forced to face off against “Survivor 43” competitor Cassidy Clark in the “Arena,” this season’s elimination grounds. Clark had been voted into elimination by the Green team after they won the daily challenge.
Unfortunately for Lopez, she had one vote cast against her that was put into “The Hopper,” which host TJ Lavin randomly drew. She was sent down to the sand and after the dust settled, Clark won the “Block Heads” elimination game and Lopez was sent home.
It was revealed during the episode that “Challenge” champion Tori Deal was responsible for Lopez’s single Hopper ball. Her vote was part of the “Operation Hat Trick” scheme that had a handful of contestants, specifically the remaining MTV players and “Big Brother” stars Faysal Shafaat and Josh Martinez (who’ve also appeared on several iterations of “The Challenge”) pick names out of a hat to determine who’d they cast their vote against.
The idea was to sew chaos among the CBS ranks, which it did. But, Lopez told Parade that she was less than impressed with the strategy.
“We all talk; we all hang out,” Lopez said in an interview published August 25. “So I found out she (Deal) was my vote like months after we filmed. And I was like, being the strategic person in me, that makes sense. Strategically I wanted her out; strategically I put in ‘Bananas.’ Then to find out if it was just pieces of paper, and it was random, I can’t respect it that much. I mean strategically, did it make sense in their head? Cool. But at the same time, I mean, they got what they wanted because I was a big voice against them.
“So, in a way, it did help them. But I don’t really understand the full strategy. It just looks scared. I feel like why don’t you guys band together and vote this one person to show you guys are gonna go after us or something? I don’t know.”
The MTV Veterans Were Outgunned Going Into ‘USA 2’
Six staples representing MTV’s flagship series crossed over to CBS for “USA 2,” including Deal, John “Johnny Bananas” Devenanzio, Wes Bergmann and Cory Wharton. But, unlike in past seasons when the veterans typically ruled the roost from the get-go, the challengers were heavily outnumbered by CBS reality stars carrying the flag for three of the network’s competition shows: “Survivor,” “Big Brother” and “The Amazing Race.”
And instead of the CBS folk welcoming the MTV players with open arms, they staged a campaign to eliminate them as quickly as possible. By episode 4, two of them had fallen — two-time “Challenge” champ Jonna Mannion and Amanda Garcia were taken out in the Arena.
Further, Bananas had to fight for his life in the game against “Big Brother 18” alum and multiple-time “Challenge” contestant alum Paulie Calafiore. He came out on top, however.
Well, the remaining four flagship representatives and Shafaat and Martinez figured out a way to mount a counterattack in the house via Operation Hat Trick with the intent to fuel a war between “Survivor” and “Big Brother” contestants.
Sunday’s episode will feature the fallout from the strategy.
Lopez Admitted She Didn’t Train for ‘USA 2’
Lopez’s stint on “USA 2” wasn’t her first time on “The Challenge.” She also participated in season 1 last year when she narrowly missed out on the final challenge.
But, she told Parade that she wasn’t nearly as prepared physically her second time around.
“I didn’t train at all this season,” Lopez said. “Last season, it was right after ‘Big Brother.’ I had all this free time. I had a trainer; I was training. I lost a lot of weight because of ‘Big Brother.’ I wanted to gain that back. And I felt how strong I was, for my size, obviously. Right before this season, I started a business.
“It started really taking off and it took up my entire free time. I did not train. I wasn’t mentally prepared. I was still checking work emails on the way to the airport. I didn’t have that time to be like, “Okay, I’m doing this.” And I definitely saw the difference of my strength physically.